Between A Rock and A Hard Place
by Rhasa aka Sarah
Summary: Max goes into heat around a virus infected Logan who is forced to call Alec for help. The sequql to this story is called Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
1. Default Chapter

Title: Between a Rock and a Hard Place Part 1 Author: Rhasa Rating: R Category: Angst/ Relationship (s) Disclaimer: Not mine. No money being made, no infringement intended. Spoilers: Season 2 in general, before Freak Nation. Summary: Max goes into heat around a virus infected Logan who is forced to call Alec for help. Author's Note: This was written really, really quickly and I know it's kind of rough, but what can I say? I write when I can.  
  
Between a Rock and a Hard Place Part 1 By Rhasa  
"Where is she?" Alec said gruffly as he pushed his way past Logan and his front door, while lightly smashing into the ordinary's shoulder.  
  
"In the bathroom," Logan called after him, completely unsurprised at the younger man's abrupt entrance.  
  
"Alec?" He heard Max calling his name from further inside the depths of the luxurious suite. "Alec!" She called again, her voice pained somehow.  
  
"Max?" Striding quickly towards Logan's bathroom, Alec didn't stop to ask for an explanation as to why Logan had called him. He didn't need any further clarification. It wasn't Logan's surprise call but rather his abrupt, clipped words that had him running at full speed towards Fogle Towers..  
  
. "Alec? It's Logan. Max is in trouble. She. she needs you. Get over to my apartment, now.."  
  
. After that Alec had heard a loud crash and Logan hung up.  
  
For some reason Logan's words had made Alec's heart race. A number of scenarios had entered his mind; reasons why it had been Logan himself that called and not Max. She was hurt. She had had a close call with White. Her seizures were back with a vengeance. Something had happened to Joshua. She had found the others and it was bad news.  
  
Whatever had happened his gut told him it was bad. And despite being the soldier that he was he couldn't stop the slight hesitation of his hand as it reached for the doorknob of Logan's bathroom while he steeled himself for what he might find inside. Before he could turn the knob though, he heard a loud moan coming from behind. With a heavy blink of his eyes, he turned the knob and took one step forward into the room..  
  
. and stopped.  
  
He was surprised to see Max slumped on the floor, surrounded by shards of broken glass from a now smashed mirror and glass shelf. She was shaking slightly, her hair curtained her eyes and her body was turned slightly away from him. Against the white of the porcelain of the sink above her there were smears of blood.  
  
"Oh God. Max!" he exclaimed as he began to rush forward, before a firm hand clasped him on the shoulder.  
  
"Alec, wait!" Logan said.  
  
Their words were enough to catch Max's attention as she began to slowly turn her head in their direction.  
  
Alec had an instant to take in Max's eyes. Her dilated pupils were discernible even from the doorway. He took another half a second to look her over and noticed the fine sheen of sweat covering her body, her ragged breathing and lastly the handcuffs that manacled her to the pipes under the bathroom sink. And then it hit him. The scent. It washed over him like a warm wave. Closing his eyes, Alec stood there enjoying the sensation, before Logan reached out and closed the door with a loud bang.  
  
The noise was enough to break Alec from his momentary stupor.  
  
"She's in heat."  
  
"Yes." Logan confirmed.  
  
"She's in heat and you handcuffed her in there."  
  
"No. She did that to herself. Right after she broke down the closet door," Logan said while throwing a look down the hallway to the shattered wood that lay strewn all over the floor.  
  
"She's in heat, she's handcuffed in there and you called me."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Are you insane?" Alec said while quickly backing up into the main living area.  
  
"I needed help," Logan implored.  
  
"Help?"  
  
"If she was to get out of those cuffs, if she came after me again."  
  
"Wait, she came after you?" Alec asked, tilting his head, just trying to understand how Logan had gotten him into this mess.  
  
"Yeah. I didn't know what was going on. She was acting weird ever since she got here. I've never been around her when she was in heat before. But she kept getting closer. She wouldn't back off, I knew then that something was wrong, and then when she reached for me, I just reacted, I threw the ice bucket from the wine we were having all over her. It was enough to shock some sense into her for a moment. She ran into the closet. Told me through the door what was going on, that's when I rang you. She was trying to keep her distance, but the closet wasn't enough to stop her. She busted down the door and came after me again. And I. I. I um."  
  
"Logan, what?" Alec barked at the ordinary, his impatience getting the better of him.  
  
"I hit her with the chair."  
  
"Shit," Alec muttered.  
  
"I had to. If she had touched me."  
  
"Yeah, I know."  
  
"I threw her the cuffs. and she locked herself in there. She's been in there for about fifteen minutes. I don't know if it is strong enough to hold her though."  
  
"Maybe. Maybe not. If it's only just come on then it's got a long way to go before it subsides again."  
  
"I needed someone strong enough to handle her."  
  
"So you called me," Alec said rhetorically.  
  
"I couldn't think of anyone else to call, Alec. I couldn't call Joshua, and I don't exactly have all your X5 family members programmed into my speed dial."  
  
"Alec! Logan!" Max's agony-laced voice called for them again.  
  
"Sounds like she's getting worse," Logan said as he looked down the hall in the direction of the bathroom and then back to Alec. "Look, I didn't know what else to do. I thought you could help."  
  
"Yeah. I can. But not the way you mean," Alec muttered under his breath.  
  
"What?"  
  
"This is not a good idea," Alec said louder this time, as he turned and headed for the door.  
  
"What? Wait. Where are you going?"  
  
"I'm leaving."  
  
"Wait. I need you here. If she breaks-"  
  
"Logan, you don't know what you're asking me."  
  
"I'm asking you to stay here and help her get through this."  
  
"No. That's definitely *not* what you should be asking me."  
  
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Alec, you've seen how she is-"  
  
"Yeah. I have. But you haven't seen how *I* am."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Logan, just how much has Max told you about her *heat* and the whole Manticore Breeding program."  
  
"She's told me that she gets uncontrollable during these phases. She does things that she can't help, no matter how hard she tries, that's it's part of her feline DNA, it's unstoppable and it's the thing about herself she hates the most. That's why I need help. If she can't help herself we might touch and-"  
  
"I know. But what you don't know, is that these little *phases* she goes through don't just affect her." He paused waiting for his statement to register with Logan. When it didn't, he added, "She has feline DNA. I have feline DNA. We were designated breeding partners. See the picture? Know what I'm getting at?"  
  
"Oh, god," Logan gasped as all of what Alec was saying suddenly dawned on him.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You mean that when she goes into heat-"  
  
"To be scientific about it, she exudes pheromones that make her equally irresistible to another X5 male. The strength of her mating instincts is the same as ours."  
  
"Which means-"  
  
"Which means that if I don't get out of here soon, before her pheromones increase, I'll be the one busting down the doors - to get to her, and there's not one damn thing either one of us, or you for that matter, will be able to do about it."  
  
"Oh god."  
  
"You said it."  
  
End Part 1  
  
Want more? Need to know what happens? Then please review or email me at  
  
Rhasa4@yahoo.com 


	2. Part 2

Title: Between A Rock and A Hard Place Part 2 Author: Rhasa Rating: R Spoilers: General Season 2 before 'Freak Nation' BEFORE MAX and Alec Are seemingly together. Category: Drama/Angst/ Relationship see author's note at end for further clarification. Summary: Max goes into heat around a virus infected Logan who calls Alec for help.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. No infringement intended. No money being made, yadda yadda, yadda. Feedback: Yes, please, pretty please. I only write when I get feedback, so feel free to feed the monster. Rhasa4@yahoo.com  
  
Part 2  
  
"I have to leave." Alec said once more, after detecting the first faint smell of Max's pheromones in the living room. He knew he had to run, run now, before they would permeate the rest of Logan's place, before there was no escape. "Now," he said defiantly and turning towards the door yet again.  
  
"You can't," Logan said, moving to block Alec's exit.  
  
"Logan, didn't you hear what I just said? If I stay I may not be able to control myself."  
  
"Alec, she's hurt," his words though soft still had force to stop him from leaving. "I told you. I hit her with the chair. I had no other choice. She's hurt. She's bleeding. As she went into the bathroom she was bleeding. She slipped on the blood and fell against the mirror and shelf. I don't know how bad she is. Maybe she's cut herself more."  
  
Alec looked to the floor for a moment, heavily considering what Logan had just said, before he lifted his gaze to the other man and said determined, "She's transgenic. She'll be okay."  
  
"Are you sure about that? I know it's still possible for X5's to bleed to death. You guys may be transgenic but you're not invincible."  
  
"No offence, Logan, but I doubt an ordinary such as yourself could hurt her that much, at least physically, anyway," he sneered ever so slightly.  
  
"Are you willing to take the risk?" Logan asked.  
  
"What is it that you want from me, Logan? Huh?" Alec suddenly barked out, both his temper and his own hormones beginning to get the better of him. "Just what is it that you think I can do for you here?"  
  
"Just take a look at her. Make sure she's okay. A quick look. Now, before, as you say, things increase, get worse, whatever."  
  
"I can't," Alec said through gritted teeth, wondering all the while, why the man before him couldn't seem to grasp the seriousness of their situation.  
  
"You know," Logan started as Alec headed for the door again. "You're not as different to me as you might think."  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Alec asked., damn this man for keeping on pulling him back.  
  
"It means that if anything ever happened to Max because of something you'd done, you would never forgive yourself."  
  
Alec stopped again at Logan's words. He would never admit to the truth in them though.  
  
"Just one look, Alec," Logan said, again. "I need to know if she's okay. I need to know if I. if I hurt her."  
  
Alec sighed. How was it possible that he could both hate this guy and respect him as much as he did at the same time. He constantly put Max in danger and yet here he was worried that he had hurt a revved-up genetically engineered soldier who could snap his neck in a heartbeat...  
  
"I've never really asked anything of you before, Alec, but here I am, asking. Please," Logan pleaded.  
  
Damn, Alec thought, as he looked to the floor, looked back at Logan's face and then at the floor once again. He really was between a rock and a hard place. Maybe there was a slight chance that he could get in, check Max over and then get out before anything could happen. And if that wasn't possible... well, he had warned Logan. This obviously meant so much to the guy that he was willing to take another risk other than the one of her bleeding to death. But did he really know what he was asking?  
  
Shit.  
  
"Okay," Alec said barely above a whisper. "But we gotta work out exactly what we're going to do, because I'm telling ya' Logan, things aint' going to be pretty in there."  
  
End Part 2  
  
Author's Note: Okay, I know this is short but I have no heat at home and it is 7 degrees Celsius at the moment where I live (Canberra, Australia) and I can't sit at the computer too long because it's so cold. I promise to make the next one longer.  
  
As to coupling, well I don't want to give anything away. But it won't be slash! Sorry, I'm just not into that. Anyway, I don't really know what to designate the rest of the series other than to say it could go either way ie. M/A or M/L. I guess you'll just have to keep reading. 


	3. Part 3

Title: Between A Rock and A Hard Place Part 3 Author: Rhasa Rating: R Spoilers: General Season 2 before 'Freak Nation' Before Max and Alec are 'seemingly' together. Category: Drama/Angst/ Relationship(s) Note plural. Summary: Max goes into heat around a virus infected Logan who calls Alec for help. Disclaimer: Not mine. No infringement intended. No money being made, yadda yadda, yadda. Feedback: Yes, please, pretty please. I only write when I get feedback, so feel free to feed the monster. Rhasa4@yahoo.com  
  
Between A Rock and A Hard Place Part 3  
  
by Rhasa  
"Do you think she can get out of those cuffs?" Logan asked as he and Alec stood outside the bathroom door.  
  
"Yep."  
  
Logan looked at him somewhat surprised with Alec's quick answer, so Alec elaborated. "It's one of the skills we were taught at Manticore. She can use her teeth and tongue and get undone in about a minute. Makes you wonder what she can do with a cherry stem, doesn't it?" He looked over at Logan with a patented smirk on his face, only to find a deep scowl on the other man's face. "Maybe not. Forget I said that."  
  
After a moment of thought, Logan wondered about Alec's words. "If she can get out of the cuffs so easily, then why hasn't she already?"  
  
"Well, being in heat usually means that you can't concentrate all that well. The hormones take away your focus, your edge. Trying to get out of those cuffs when she's in heat is like. oh hell, I don't know. like trying to throw a bullseye in darts while drunk or something."  
  
Logan nodded his head ever so slightly. "Gotta plan?" he asked Alec, noting the sudden nervousness that seemed to wash over him once they had gotten to the bathroom door.  
  
"Oh God," Alec said while closing his eyes.  
  
"What? What is it?"  
  
"I can smell her from here."  
  
"Really?" A surprised Logan asked.  
  
"Oh yeah," a happy Alec smiled.  
  
"Alec!" Logan yelled into his ear, breaking the X5's trance - at least for the time being.  
  
"Sorry," Alec muttered with chagrin. Logan scowled back. "Look I can't help it, okay? You have no idea what it's like."  
  
"I guess not," Logan said forlornly.  
  
"Maybe I should just leave," Alec said pointing to the front door of the apartment again.  
  
"Yeah. But in a minute. You better go in now. Before well... just get going."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Alec opened the door - and suddenly felt like he had been hit by a shock wave. Max. n heat. The pheromones in the room were almost enough to knock him off his feet - almost.  
  
"Alec," Max whimpered from the tiles below him, his word said on a husky breath of air that made the hairs on his skin stand on end.  
  
"Max, I'm just going to check you over," he said as he started to approach his fellow transgenic.  
  
"You can check me over all you want, big boy."  
  
"I just need to know you're all right." Alec told her.  
  
"Come closer and I'll show you just how all right I am."  
  
Alec closed his eyes. "You should definitely not be saying things like that to me, right now, Max. You're not yourself."  
  
"Don't talk to her for god sake's Alec, " came Logan's voice from the door. "It's like a goddamn scene from the Exorcist," he muttered under his breath.  
  
Alec felt a snarl cross his lips as he heard Logan's words. A part of his brain was chanting "focus, focus, focus," another part was eyeing Max hungrily, enjoying her squirming movements against the smooth bathroom tiles. He felt his own arousal building and felt utterly helpless to stop it.  
  
"Alec!" Came Logan's voice again.  
  
Alec moved closer and Max instinctively mirrored his movements as best she could. He watched as a droplet of sweat made its way down her neck to disappear into the 'v' of her t-shirt and groaned. He began to breathe through his mouth, knowing that it only decreased the effectiveness of his olfactory receptors by a marginal amount, but prayed it helped nonetheless.  
  
"Are you hurt?" He asked as he closed his eyes momentarily, swallowed hard and then reached out for her hair. From this angle he could make out the tangle of bloodied hair at the base of her head.  
  
"Max," he whispered again. "Are you hurt?"  
  
"Yes," she whimpered as he looked down into her eyes.  
  
It was when they locked eyes that he knew that this had been a bad idea. A very very bad idea. A how-on-earth-could-I-have-even-considered-doing-this- very-bad-idea. One look from her, all vulnerable before him, all helpless and wanton, and he was undone.  
  
Logan, who was watching very closely, didn't even know how it happened. One minute Alec seemed in control, the next he was in a fierce kiss with Max, biting, moaning, and ... snarling. Both seemed hell bent on consuming one another.  
  
End of Part 3  
  
Author's Note:  
  
Still no heat - in my place that is. Don't worry, it's supposed to be a warmer day today so I'll try to write a longer chapter. Thanks to all those who dropped me a line to say they read it. I will continue to write as long as I know people are continuing to read.  
  
So feed the monster Rhasa4@yahoo.com 


	4. Part 4

Title: Between A Rock and A Hard Place Part 4 Author: Rhasa Rating: R Spoilers: General Season 2 before 'Freak Nation' Before Max and Alec are 'seemingly' together. Category: Drama/Angst/ Relationship(s) Note plural. Summary: Max goes into heat around a virus infected Logan who calls Alec for help. Disclaimer: Not mine. No infringement intended. No money being made, yadda yadda, yadda. Feedback: Yes, please, pretty please. I only write when I get feedback, so feel free to feed the monster. Rhasa4@yahoo.com  
  
Between A Rock and A Hard Place Part 4  
  
by Rhasa  
Alec couldn't remember ever feeling so much desire for one person. He would never remember just which one of them it was that reached for the other, nor would he care. All that mattered at the moment was the one mission he had in life, and that was to get as close as he possibly could to Max, to crawl inside of her if physically possible. His lips and teeth and tongue attacked hers, and hers his. His hands grabbed as much as her as they could, as hers fought earnestly against the metal hold the cuffs had on her at he pipe. His body pushed itself into hers as far as it would go. He needed her like he needed air and nothing, nothing could tear them apart.  
  
"Oh fuck!" Except the icy cold river that seemed to have just suddenly flowed down his back. "What the fu-" he began before a pair of hands pulled him to his feet.  
  
Logan made use of the momentary and temporary distraction the bucket of ice water had afforded him to pull Alec off of Max. He knew there was no other way that he would have been able to get the edge over the younger X5.  
  
With an almighty shove he managed to throw Alec out of the room and back into the hall before slamming the door. When he turned towards him, Alec seemed to have recovered somewhat. "Oh God," he cried.  
  
"Get up there," Logan barked at him, gesturing for him to move further away from the door that he was still eyeing hungrily.  
  
"You could have warned me," Alec muttered, while dripping all over Logan's floor.  
  
"Yeah, telling an X5 alpha male when a bucket of ice water is going to be thrown on them would have been such a good idea," Logan said in a totally pissed off way, while throwing him a towel that he had procured from somewhere.  
  
"I'm sorry," Alec said while trying as best he could to dry himself off.  
  
Logan remained quiet. He turned his back on the younger man, and moved to a sideboard where he poured himself a rather large scotch sans the ice.  
  
Watching him, Alec's heart went out to the guy. "If it's any consolation, I don't think she's badly hurt," he said. When Logan continued to say nothing, he added, "Head wounds always tend to look more serious than they are. The scalp can bleed an awful lot without there actually being much damage. I don't think she'll need stitches." He watched as Logan drained his glass and began to refill it. "Maybe a bandaid," he muttered to himself.  
  
Logan continued to take large gulps of the amber liquid. The warm sensation the scotch made as it flowed down his throat temporarily relieving the sickening tension that had coiled itself up inside of him.  
  
Alec watched in silence as Logan attacked his third tumbler with only slightly slowly as he fought to control his own racing heart. While he could still smell Max on him, not being in close proximity to her any longer made it slightly easier for him to keep himself in check - at least for now.  
  
"I guess I never knew," Logan said to the quiet as Alec threw the now wet towel across to a chair.  
  
"Knew what?" Alec asked, wanting not to 'bite' but feeling the need to break the awkward silence that had fallen over them.  
  
"I never knew...hah," he began to chuckle. "I never knew just how strong Max felt about you."  
  
"What? What are you talking about?"  
  
"Oh come on, Alec. I was there remember?" Logan said turning a glare on him.  
  
"No," Alec shook his head vehemently. "You got it all wrong," he said, hands on hips.  
  
"Do I?" Logan asked smugly. "The way she went for you-"  
  
"The way she went for me was exactly how she would have gone for any red blooded and maybe any green blooded male had they walked by. She's in heat, Logan," he yelled, hating already where this conversation was going.  
  
"She may be in heat, but the way she reached for you-"  
  
"You were the one who said that you had to beat her off with a chair. And now, what you're jealous because she had the same reaction to me? What was this, Logan, some kind of test?"  
  
Logan looked down at his feet. "She never reacted the same way with me. She didn't want to devour me like she so obviously did with you."  
  
"Jesus Christ," Alec muttered under his breath. "I cannot believe what I am hearing."  
  
"What? Truth hurt?"  
  
"Truth?" Alec screamed with incredulity. "Man you are so far from the truth right now, Logan-"  
  
"Then deny it."  
  
"Deny WHAT?"  
  
"Deny that there are feelings between you two."  
  
Alec stopped, his mouth gaped open, he couldn't believe what Logan was saying to him. Had he been right to think that this was some kind of test? No. He didn't think that that was how it had started out. Logan's voice showed just how concerned he was when he had rang Alec earlier that evening. But just what was going through the older man's mind right now was a mystery to Alec. His off base comments had really thrown him for a loop.  
  
"I thought so," Logan whispered when, Alec too caught up in analysing everything that had gone on this evening, failed to answer.  
  
Alec walked up to Logan and put his face right up and close to his, "I'm only going to say this once, and I'm trying real hard not to kick your ass from here to Sunday only because you must have had one hell of a shock today, or gotten a blow to your own head, or whatever, 'cause you're obviously not thinking straight, but... Max is in heat. She can't control herself. She didn't choose me over you, she isn't in her right mind at the moment, which should be obvious by the fact that she went after you, the love of her life, who she knows damn well she can't touch because she would kill you!" He finished with yelling.  
  
Logan stood and nodded his head.  
  
But by this time Alec was well and truly pissed off. Walking over to Logan's makeshift bar, he helped himself to a scotch not unlike the one Logan had just finished. "You know, not everything is about you, Logan. Did you ever stop to consider that for a second?" He took a long drain of the liquid. "She's probably never going to forgive herself for that one little slip, that one kiss between us. Come tomorrow, she'll be so hard on herself, consumed by guilt, wracked by grief, not able to look herself in her eye, not able to look at you. So you just keep on feeling sorry for yourself, 'cause we know that's the most important thing," he snarled.  
  
Alec took another long sip of his scotch. In the now still of the apartment he could hear Max's movements from the bathroom. She was definitely having a rough time of it. Turning ever so slightly, Alec was assailed by another waft of her scent, and try as he might he couldn't stop himself from breathing her in.  
  
"So what do we do now?" Logan asked, his question redirecting Alec's attention away from Max for the time being.  
  
"What?"  
  
"What do we do to help *her*? After all this isn't about me, remember?"  
  
"We do nothing, well, you do nothing. I'm leaving," Alec said, then drained his glass and put it on the sideboard.  
  
"Is that it? Do nothing? You're leaving?"  
  
"Well, as far as I see it, Logan, you got two choices. You can either leave and stay away until she rides this thing out, or stay and pray she doesn't break out of the bathroom."  
  
"That's your idea of helping her?"  
  
"She's a big girl, Logan. She doesn't need my help. She needs to ride this thing out."  
  
"And what if she can't? What if you leave and then I leave and then she gets out? What if she tries to go home and can't control herself along the way and jumps the first guy she meets."  
  
"Hey, it happens." Alec said in a rather nonchalant way, trying to state the obvious to Logan.  
  
"And you'd be okay with that? Huh? You say that she won't forgive herself in the morning for kissing you, and yet have you thought about how she would feel if we left her alone, and she was to leave here and jumped a total stranger? Just how wracked by guilt would she be then, Alec?"  
  
"Her heat is not my problem!" Alec turned sharply on Logan yelling into the other man's face.  
  
"Her heat is everyone-who-cares-about-her 's problem. And I know you do, care about her, that is."  
  
"You over estimate me. Haven't you heard? I only care about myself."  
  
"That's what you'd like everyone to think. But I know you better than you think I do. You care about Max."  
  
Alec shook his head. "You wanna know just how much I *care* about her? Hey Logan? I care about her so damn much, that right now all I'm capable of thinking about is marching down to that goddamn bathroom, ripping her clothes off and burying myself so deep inside of her that she'd be impaled on me. That's how much I *care* about her!" Alec barked. He stopped and paused to look in Logan's eyes, his breathing ragged as he fought for control.  
  
"Well then, maybe you should," Logan said softly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"It could be a possible solution for all our problems."  
  
End of part 4  
  
Author's Note:  
  
Okay if that last part didn't intrigue you then you had better bail now. This story has taken a little evil turn. It may not be what you think it may be. I have written the next few parts and I don't recall ever reading anything that has a similar storyline, so I think what I have come up with is pretty unique. It can still go both ways ie. M/L or M/A and I don't think it is outside the realm of possibilities if you think about the characters and just what they have gone through and what they are going through. To me it is more believable than any of the babyfics out there but hey, whatever floats your boat. Having said that it is fanfiction. Some of you WILL not agree with where I have taken this story. Others will. Just keep an open mind and enjoy the ride is all I ask. But if it is going to make you cringe, bail now.  
  
Rhasa hands out parachutes 


	5. Part 5

Title: Between A Rock and A Hard Place Part 5 Author: Rhasa Rating: R Spoilers: General Season 2 before 'Freak Nation' Before Max and Alec are 'seemingly' together. Category: Drama/Angst/ Relationship(s) Note plural. Summary: Max goes into heat around a virus infected Logan who calls Alec for help. Disclaimer: Not mine. No infringement intended. No money being made, yadda yadda, yadda. Feedback: Yes, please, pretty please. I only write when I get feedback, so feel free to feed the monster. Rhasa4@yahoo.com  
  
Between A Rock and A Hard Place Part 5  
  
by Rhasa  
  
"Maybe I've been looking at this all wrong," Logan said slowly, thinking hard. "She has urges. Uncontrollable urges. Totally-not-her-fault kind of urges. And she tears herself up when they get the better of her. If it wasn't for the virus we wouldn't have a problem. but."  
  
"What the fuck are you getting at?"  
  
"Let's face facts. You care about her. I care about her. She loves me, okay maybe she can't in an ideal conventional sort of way, but she loves me nonetheless and you obviously feel something for her since you keep hanging around-"  
  
"I do not keep-" Alec, began, only to be interrupted.  
  
"Max and I can't be together. in. in. the way we want to be together," Logan continued, ignoring Alec. " But these urges means she runs the risk of being with just anybody whether she likes it or not at least three times a year. But, maybe, if you two were to." Logan trailed off, hoping Alec's mind would supply the rest.  
  
"Are you really hearing the words that are coming out of your mouth?" Alec barked at him. "Huh? Listen to yourself. That's not you. That's the scotch talking."  
  
"Maybe. Maybe the scotch is giving me the courage to face the truth that I've been avoiding for all this time."  
  
"And the truth is?"  
  
"Sacrifices need to be made," Logan deadpanned, looking straight at Alec.  
  
Alec's head was swimming, from the combination of Max's scent, the scotch and the absurd suggestion Logan had just laid on him. He wanted to turn and leave, but something was holding him back. He thought about what it was Logan was saying to him, he tried to get his head around it, but he wasn't exactly the clearest of thinkers when he was around a X5 female in heat. "You'd risk your girl sleeping with me?" He asked Logan after a moment.  
  
"If it meant that I wouldn't have to lose her for good, then yeah, maybe."  
  
"Well, now I know it's true. You are fucking insane."  
  
"I've lived without her once, Alec. That time when a part of me thought she was dead, when she was back at Manticore, that time almost killed me. I've lived without her once; I'm not willing to do it again. I know how Max thinks. It's like you said, she'll never be able to look herself in the eye, never be able to look at me, without being wracked with grief, for all her. indiscretions. Oh I don't consider them to be as such, at least not now. I know she can't help it; it's nothing personal against me. But if I'm honest with myself, I'll admit that I am the jealous type. But if we had a prior *arrangement* in place, if you would provide her with . a service, since we can't touch, then maybe it would be different; maybe we'd all be able to live with this Heat of hers."  
  
"Look Logan, don't bring me into this little drama you and Max have playing."  
  
"We wouldn't have this little drama if it wasn't for you. Did you forget that we could have had the cure by now if Max hadn't have saved you from your head exploding?"  
  
"Did it occur to you that if it wasn't for me following orders to facilitate Max's escape then you wouldn't have her back at all?"  
  
"I know it's not exactly fair of me to expect her to remain celibate while we figure out a cure to this virus deal," Logan continued. "She's young. She's at an age where she's supposed to be. well, she's at that age. But I feel deep down, that if all things were equal, if things were what they were meant to be, then there wouldn't be a need to even consider a proposal such as this. Max gets to go through her heat without feeling guilty, I get to know that Max is safe and not running around the streets and that she would come back to me and you. you would."  
  
"What? What Logan? What is it that you think I would get?"  
  
"You'd get to help a friend out."  
  
"Help a friend out? Help a FRIEND OUT? Is that what you think I would be doing? Have you looked at your untouchable girlfriend, Logan? Have you seen her lately? What makes you think that if I did this totally insane thing you've just suggested that it would merely be because 'I would be helping a friend out'? She deserves better than this. She doesn't deserve some kind of arrangement where she gets. what did you call it? 'Serviced'? She doesn't deserve someone who takes an easy out. She deserves someone who is willing to fall at her feet just to worship her."  
  
"Is that what you think it is that I'm suggesting? An easy out?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I told you, I would do anything to keep from losing her again," Logan said, through gritted teeth, angry that Alec failed to understand just how he felt about Max.  
  
"'You sure got a funny way of showing it. To prevent you from losing her you're willing to push her into the bed of another man."  
  
"Something like that, yeah."  
  
Alec shook his head. "Why me? Huh Logan? Why not pick someone you don't know already?"  
  
"You're. you're around. You're around her at Jam Pony. You hang out with her at Crash. And you're strong enough to handle her when she's like this. You're. convenient."  
  
Alec chuckled at the ridiculousness of Logan's words. Arguing with him in this way was getting him nowhere. The older man had obviously made up his mind, so Alec tried a different tact. "Aren't you afraid I might steal your girl, Logan?" he said with a challenging glare.  
  
"I'll take my chances."  
  
"Are you sure? You know I am considered to be quite a catch amongst transgenics."  
  
"With Max and you it would just be sex, Alec. But with me and Max there's so much more to our relationship than just that. It was never just about the sex."  
  
"You're making decisions here that are not yours to make."  
  
"I'm merely discussing some options, that's all. Max has the final word-"  
  
"How noble of you," Alec said sarcastically.  
  
"Somehow, I think she'll welcome the chance to secure the fragile hold we have on our relationship, and that's what a deal like this can offer."  
  
"Maybe it's Max that you don't know as well as you think you do."  
End Part 5  
  
Author's Note:  
  
Thanks for the reviews and feedback everyone. As I said before I will continue to write as long as I know people are reading it.  
  
I think it's funny how all the shippers out there are interpreting this piece according to their particular relationship stance. That is, Max and Logan fans can see that even though what Logan suggested was a bit absurd, his motives of not wanting to let Max's heat come between them and not wanting to lose her were legitimate ones. Max and Alec fans take Logan's suggestion as a signal as to what kind of sleeze he is. I'll let you guys make up your own mind. Maybe it will end up going one way or the other - you'll just have to keep on reading insert Rhasa's evil grin here. Just know that they BOTH really do love her, even though Alec's feelings about her are yet to be declared.  
  
Feed the monster it's daily dose. Feedback to Rhasa4@yahoo.com 


	6. Part 6

Title: Between A Rock and A Hard Place Part 6 Author: Rhasa Rating: R Spoilers: General Season 2 before 'Freak Nation' BEFORE MAX and Alec Are seemingly together. Category: Drama/Angst/ Relationship(s) Note plural. Summary: Max goes into heat around a virus infected Logan who calls Alec for help.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. No infringement intended. No money being made, yadda yadda, yadda. Feedback: Yes, please, pretty please. I only write when I get feedback, so feel free to feed the monster. Rhasa4@yahoo.com  
  
Part 6  
  
Alec once again headed for the door, having had enough of Logan's little charade.  
  
"I thought a guy like you would jump at a chance like this," Logan said, while eyeing Alec, his words stopping the younger man.  
  
"And exactly what do you think a guy like me is, Logan?" Alec snarled, his head still swimming. He knew he wouldn't last much longer. Max's heat was getting stronger.  
  
"A loner. A no-strings-attached kind of guy. Love 'em and leave em'. Always looking out for yourself," Logan said as he watched Alec shake his head in quiet disagreement. "Tell me, Alec," Logan continued. "Just how many notches do you have on that belt of yours?"  
  
"Not as many as you might think, Logan. Some of us have standards. We're not all animals like you make us out to be," Alec said while fighting the very urges that told him otherwise.  
  
"I never said that-" Logan began to argue with Alec about twisting his words.  
  
"No. Don't give me that!" Alec yelled coming to point a finger directly at Logan, his previously somewhat tempered fury now unleashed. "'Cause that's exactly how you're treating Max with this little *suggestion* of yours! You say you love her, but you don't trust her. You say you want to help her but what you really want is to help yourself, make it easier on you. You want this little arrangement purely so she will be beholden to you for your generosity. 'Logan's great sacrifice'. A deal like this binds her to you and you know it! She be damned if she did and damned if she didn't. If you really loved her, you wouldn't be pushing her into another's man's bed, you'd be pushing her away, giving her up, giving her a chance to live her life, a real life. If you really loved her, Logan, you'd let her go." Alec resisted the urge to slap some sense into the guy in front of him. Didn't he realise just how good he already had it with Max?  
  
Logan stood and stared, saying nothing. It was then that Alec realised that he had spoken the real truth, the one that Logan had tried to ignore.  
  
"I can't," Logan said softly.  
  
"Then, I guess we're all damned," Alec replied softly, realising the truth in his words for the first time. As hard as he had tried to deny it, Alec had a stake in this too. If Logan could never give Max up then... then some of his deepest desires would never - could never-be realised.  
  
"Then... you're not going to help?" Logan said after a few moments of silence.  
  
"What makes you think that I would EVER take advantage of her in that way?" Alec asked.  
  
"Because..well.. you're you," Logan said.  
  
Alec sighed and headed for the door once again, only this time he was determined to make it to the other side. Typical. Oh, Logan if only you could see yourself, Alec thought. My, how the mighty have fallen.  
  
"I'll do Max a favour," Alec said. "I'm going to forget we had this little conversation. I suggest you do too. Another twenty-four hours and she'll be through the worst of it. Give Original Cindy a call, she'll look after your girl."  
  
As he reached for the doorknob, Alec couldn't help but throw another look down the hall towards the bathroom.. towards Max, nor could he help but think ever so briefly of the chance he was throwing away.  
  
"Manticore already punishes her day by day for what she is, Logan. Don't you punish her too," Alec said as he stepped through the door.  
  
Logan stood in the now empty living room. He strained to hear any sounds, any signs of movement from Max, but couldn't. He was surprised at Alec. His suggestion wasn't received as he had imagined it would have been. Maybe he had been wrong about him.  
  
End Part 6  
  
Author's Note:  
  
Yeah yeah. I know that was really short too!!!!  
  
Sorry guys.  
  
I wanted to start a fresh update for the next part which will involve more Max, and like I said before, there is something for everyone, so I really hope you keep reading.  
  
The reviews have been great. It's nice to know that someone out there is reading and doesn't think that this totally sucks. I so like to hear from everyone who reads my stuff, so please drop me a line at Rhasa4@yahoo.com or just review.  
  
As for the M/A shippers out there, I love making you guys squirm!!!! Heeheeeheheeeehheee. At this stage it's still safe for both M/A and M/L's to keep reading. 


	7. Part 7

Title: Between A Rock and A Hard Place Part 7 Author: Rhasa Rating: R Spoilers: General Season 2 before 'Freak Nation' BEFORE MAX and Alec are seemingly together. Category: Drama/Angst/ Relationship(s) Note plural. Summary: Max goes into heat around a virus infected Logan who calls Alec for help. Disclaimer: Not mine. No infringement intended. No money being made, yadda yadda, yadda. Feedback: Yes, please, pretty please. I only write when I get feedback, so feel free to feed the monster. Rhasa4@yahoo.com  
  
Part 7  
  
Alec hadn't expected her to show up on his doorstep a day later. He had guessed that avoidance would have been her coping strategy. He was somewhat surprised to find her standing before him, looking sheepish, hands in pockets and chin down.  
  
"Hey," she had simply said when he had opened the door in answer to her soft knock.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Can I um. come in?" she asked which was something totally new - usually she barged straight past him.  
  
"Yeah. Sure," Alec said stepping aside. "How are you feeling?" He asked as he closed the door behind him.  
  
"The worst of it's over."  
  
"Good," he replied awkwardly, moving further into the room. He didn't have anything prepared to say. The fact that she hadn't smacked him upside the head by now had him a little worried. Maybe she didn't remember what they had shared a mere twenty-four hours ago.  
  
"Alec, I'm sorry.  
  
Apparently she did remember.  
  
"I'm sorry Logan dragged you over there. I guess he was scared. By the way I was acting I don't blame him."  
  
"He didn't drag me there, Max," he said as he turned and faced her, the sofa acting as a barrier between them. "I went there because he told me you were in trouble--"  
  
"I was. It kind of hit me more suddenly this time. Usually I get a sense of it . .I mean. .once before, prior to the whole virus thing.. me and Logan.. well, I knew beforehand and-"  
  
"Max, it's okay. You don't have to explain yourself to me," he shrugged.  
  
"Why not? I seem to be doing it an awful lot lately."  
  
"To Logan, you mean."  
  
"Yeah," she sighed.  
  
"Max, I don't want to get into anything about you and Logan, I-" he said holding up his hand.  
  
"He told me," she said quickly, cutting him off.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Everything."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Everything he said to you," she clarified.  
  
"And he still has both arms, both legs? Or did you just rip him a new one?"  
  
She grinned. "I know. Maybe I should have. At first when I heard what he had to say, I wondered if he had been replaced by a clone or something."  
  
"Or something," Alec agreed.  
  
"But then. what he said." she looked down, her eyes darting to and fro, her mind searching for what it was that she really wanted to say. "Some of what he said kind of made sense." She looked up at Alec, stared him directly in the eye.  
  
"You can't be serious."  
  
"I know.. I know.. it sounds so bizarre. An arrangement like that - In the past I would never have thought about it. But he kinda convinced me.. he only suggested it because he loves me."  
  
"Max, that's not what love is."  
  
"Isn't it? He wants us to stay together, Alec. He'd do anything. He's afraid of losing me."  
  
"There are other ways, Max. If he loves you, he should exhaust all those other ways," Alec said, not quite believing that those words were coming from *his* mouth.  
  
"Are there? I mean we've been searching for the cure for the virus, the one true thing that keeps us apart, for months now and nothing has come of it. It's not likely that we'll be able to touch soon. It's not likely that he could be there for me during my next heat. And if my future heats come on as quickly as this one then I don't know if I'll be able to get myself somewhere safe in time, somewhere away for him... Somewhere away from the others..."  
  
"I can't believe you. He has you spouting *his* argument. He's.. he's brainwashed you."  
  
"No, he hasn't."  
  
"This isn't the Max I know."  
  
"Just who is the Max you know?" she whispered in a daring tone.  
  
"The Max I knows never compromises herself for anyone. The Max I know kicks ass, most frequently my ass to be precise. The Max I know doesn't let get herself get dictated to by anyone. The Max I know wants to beat this bitch of a heat of hers... Not.. not give in to it."  
  
"I'm not compromising myself. Can't you see I'd be doing the opposite?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"My heat has made me hook up with guys; guys like Eric and Darren and even Rafer; guys that I would never give a second look to normally. I have no control over it, Alec. It's like being on some bad trip, you know what's going on around you but you're helpless to stop it and the only thing you can do is to ride it out, knowing.. all the time, knowing that you are going to hate yourself for it when it's over but being totally and utterly powerless to stop it.." She choked. "But what Logan suggested, means that.. maybe I won't feel so powerless anymore. I won't be helpless, I won't hate myself. I'll just accept it for what it is.. Us being together," she waved a hand between her and Alec, "would merely be the best contingency plan.. a way to prevent an.. undesirable outcome."  
  
Alec looked down and sadly shook his head. "I can't believe that this is what you want."  
  
"Haven't you heard that old song? 'You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need.'"  
  
"And this is what you need?"  
  
"Yeah.. maybe. I mean, I need... I need to take control over this Manticore nightmare that is my life."  
  
I know but.." Ale trailed off. There wasn't really anything more he could say.  
  
"Alec," came Max's small voice. She took a few steps towards him and playfully punched him in the shoulder. He looked up and she inwardly cringed at the sadness she saw in his eyes, not knowing that a similar look was reflected in his. "Alec, I'm asking. Will you help me?"  
End Part 7  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
For those of you who can't stand the suspense (or to put it in your words, me "dragging it out") then don't despair only two or so more parts. Don't you watch daytime soaps for crying out loud??? They take a whole month to complete one conversation.! And I know it's been long. I don't usually write this way, but I gotta admit it's been fun exploring these characters and I think some of you have enjoyed the ride (and hopefully still are). I also LOVE your own insightful comments about the characters and their motives. Thanks. I like the chase better than the catch if you know what I mean. Hot monkey sex you can get anywhere (and who knows you may still get it here) but suspense and angst and sexual tension which are the real fun things in life is often hard to come by.  
  
Feedback always welcomed at Rhasa4@yahoo.com 


	8. Part 8

Title: Between A Rock and A Hard Place Part 8 Author: Rhasa Rating: R Spoilers: General Season 2 before 'Freak Nation' BEFORE MAX and Alec are seemingly together. Category: Drama/Angst/ Relationship(s) Note plural. Summary: Max goes into heat around a virus infected Logan who calls Alec for help. Disclaimer: Not mine. No infringement intended. No money being made, yadda yadda, yadda. Feedback: Yes, please, pretty please. I only write when I get feedback, so feel free to feed the monster. Rhasa4@yahoo.com  
Part 8  
Alec couldn't believe her. She wanted to use him.. just like Manticore did. For services rendered.  
  
"You don't have to tell me now," she said noting his hesitation. "My next heat won't be for another four months or so. So you've got, you know. ages to think about it."  
  
"I don't need to think about it," he said solemnly his eyes cast downwards.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"I've already made my decision," he hissed as he moved away from her.  
  
"And?"  
  
"And you can take Logan's, and now your, idea and shove it," he said with pure venom in his voice. "See I've got this all figured out and I'm honest enough to call it for what it really is, unlike you and Logan."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"Oh I think you do. I know the real reason why Logan made this little suggestion of his. He wants a face to a name. He reckons that your heat will eventually mean that you'll inevitably sleep with a total stranger. Hey as I told him, it happens. But he's the jealous type. He told me so. You doing someone else, no matter how much not-your-fault it would be, would just tear him up inside. He'd be walking the streets day after day wondering, just wondering which poor son-of-a-bitch it was that fucked your brains out. It would be like a cancer to him, all that wondering, eating away at him. But if I was that son-of-a-bitch then Logan would have a face to hate and hate my face he would. Imagine how much easier it would be for him for me to be the sole object of his disdain. Hell, he's already half way there. It would be a nice little set up for him."  
  
"You've got it all wrong," she spat.  
  
"I don't think so. I think I'm the only one that's got it all right. And you. well, how long has it been Max? How long has it been since you were last with a guy? Maybe once in the last year or so? That's gotta make Max one lonely girl. With a boyfriend you're not able to touch it makes sense that you'd be craving some human contact-- some *intimate* human contact," he emphasised as he came to stand next to her. "A hand to caress your lower back," he moved behind her, so close but not touching. "Lips to brush against your skin, maybe a nose to nuzzle your neck, fingers that brush up the insides of your thighs, teeth that graze your breasts," he whispered into her ear totally unaware that she had closed her eyes to the sensations he was creating inside of her just by being near. Her breathing quickened as she felt the heat radiating from his body and she fought in earnest not to sigh or moan in response to his words. "I'll bet you've been lying night after night craving those things," he whispered seductively. "Things that once you might have taken for granted, but things now sorely missed since lover boy's been off limits. And then along comes Logan with his outrageous suggestion, and what, Max? Suddenly you have found a way to get what you've been secretly desiring ever since you returned from Manticore without Logan thinking you're cheating on him? After all it was his idea. Who cares if it's not the face of your soul mate riding above you or between your legs? Close your eyes and turn out the lights and voila - convenient Logan substitute."  
  
"Go to hell," she spat as she spun away from him.  
  
"What too close to home?" he sneered.  
  
"And what about you, huh?" She quickly turned the tables. "What's your ulterior motive?" She eyed him seriously.  
  
"I'm the one REJECTING this little plan, remember?"  
  
"That's exactly my point," she argued. "You say it's insane for Logan and I to even consider this proposal, and that we must have had other reasons for doing this in mind, after all, it's out of character; it's not us. Well, the same can be said for your rejection, Alec. A chance for an easy, no commitment, no strings attached, always a sure thing lay. With, I might add, someone who is genetically your equal and who has the blessing of her boyfriend. So why the refusal? Huh? Alec -- the ladies man, why is it that you are passing this up? It's not like you've ever been picky before, I've seen your taste in women extend far below what's standing in front of you. And you have always been one for convenience. Which leads to me guess that something else is going on for not agreeing to do this. Afraid that you'll embarrass yourself?"  
  
"Yeah, that's it. Got it in one," he said sarcastically, trying to deflect her attack.  
  
"Is it that you are afraid that you're not Alpha male enough for me?" she taunted.  
  
"I'll guess you'll never know will you, Max?" he challenged.  
  
"Or is it that the ghost of Rachel makes it impossible for you to enjoy intimacy with a woman these days," she countered.  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"What, is 'Rachel' too close to home, Alec?" she said taking the same tone that he had taken with her earlier.  
  
"Shut up! This has nothing to do with her!!" he said his annoyance clearly showing.  
  
"Well if it's really not her, then what is it Alec? Why are you rejecting me?"  
  
"Because I told you-" he began to rehash his argument.  
  
"No!" she cut him off. "I'm not buying it. Why Alec ?"  
  
"BECAUSE!!" he yelled.  
  
"Because why?"  
  
"BECAUSE I COULDN'T STAND IT!! I couldn't stand having you but not having you Max. If we were to be together like that, I'd want it all.!!"  
End Part 8  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
To all of you who have made it this far, thank you. The reviews have died off so I'm guessing that I'm losing a few readers... boohoo... Alas, there is only one more part to go. But I must admit that I don't feel like writing if no one reviews so it would be great if you drop me a line at Rhasa4@yahoo.com . For those M/A shippers out there check out my other DA story 'To Love' at fanfic.net, but be warned it's really really really dark, but I think it speaks to Alec's feelings about Max and what lengths he would go to save her. If you read it please review it would make my Mother's day. As for this series it's still safe for both M/A and M/L shippers. Remember I did say there is something for everyone... 


	9. Part 9

Title: Between A Rock and A Hard Place

Part 9

Author: Rhasa

Rating: T for language

Spoilers: General Season 2 before 'Freak Nation' BEFORE MAX and Alec are seemingly together.

Category: Drama/Angst/ Relationship(s) Note plural.

Summary: Max goes into heat around a virus infected Logan who calls Alec for help. Disclaimer: Not mine. No infringement intended. No money being made, yadda yadda, yadda.

Feedback: Yes, please, pretty please.

His words shocked her and the expression on her face was enough to unleash everything that he had pent up inside of him. "I'd want it all. Max. I'd want the seduction and the foreplay and the kissing and the hand holding and the holding one another afterwards. The fucking I can get anywhere, anytime," he spat at her. "I'd even want those silly endearments that the ordinaries use. I want that sparkle in your eyes you'd get every time you see me, that blush to your cheeks when you'd be thinking about us, you moaning my name as you came - that's what an 'us' would be, Max. Not a late night explosion in the sack every couple of months where you'd leave money on the nightstand before you headed home to.. him!"

When he had finished yelling he noticed that she was breathing as hard as he was and wondered, if only for a moment, if he had gone too far. He had promised himself that he would never tell her.. not unless she had shown that she had felt something for him. He had promised himself that he would never allow himself to be hurt ever again but here he was standing before Max his own confession causing an all too familiar ache in his heart.

"But why?" came a small soft, disbelieving voice. "Why me? I'm just like all the other girls."

He looked at her, surprised that she saw herself that way, then realising that her words were more a reflection on his on character than hers. "No. No you're NOT like other girls, Max," he said.

"But it'd just be business- an arrangement," Max said more to herself than him, still trying to work out what was happening.

"No. It wouldn't. Not to me," he said in a low tone, finally staring straight into her eyes. "It wouldn't just be a lay, Max. It wouldn't just be sex. With you it could never just be like that."

Alec waited, and watched as Max stared at the floor. The flicking of hers eyes the only sign of the turmoil inside her.

"I didn't know," she whispered in the sudden noticeable stillness of the room.

"No. I guess you didn't. I'm guessing Logan didn't either."

"Logan.." she sighed.

His heart broke at the way she said his name and he bowed his head once more. "Go home, Max. Go back to Logan."

She lifted her eyes to meet his, but he avoided her gaze. Her mind was racing. She had come here to ask for his help, a part of her knowing that such a request was admitting defeat against Manticore, another part hoping that she could take some twisted control over her life. But it had suddenly turned into something completely unexpected; something that now threatened their friendship. "But what about .. us?" She stammered not really knowing what name to put on what they had between them now.

"There is no 'us'," he simply said.

She stood saying nothing until his hushed voice broke the uncomfortable silence that seemed to cling to them. "Maybe I should get out of Seattle. Move on," he said, offering her a way out of this tangled mess that now lay between them

"I don't want to lose you, Alec."

He looked at her. "I don't think I can stay."

"Is that why you've stayed all these months? Because of me?"

Silently he answered her question with the mere look on his face.

"Alec," she sighed.

"I don't need your pity."

"I don't pity you," she said adamantly.

"Don't you? I can see that look in your eyes."

"No. I just wish that.. that things could be different between us."

"I told you what I'd want, Max."

"I love Logan," she whispered.

"I thought so," he said his head bowed in defeat.

"But that doesn't mean there isn't any room for anyone else in my life."

He looked up at her.

"I love Logan. I'll always love Logan. But that doesn't mean that we, you and I, can't have something together," she offered.

"I guess you didn't understand me the first time, Max. I don't share well with others," he growled.

"I know. And I'm not asking you to."

"Then what is it that you're asking me again?"

"I can't hope to ever have with you what I have with Logan. That just wouldn't be possible. You're not Logan. And Logan isn't you. And I'm a different me when I'm around either of you. So it wouldn't be sharing because it wouldn't be the same thing for either of you. It'd be different, separate and unique."

"You are making no sense whatsoever," he sighed in frustration. "What are you saying, Max? That you want to be with me?"

"I'm... I'm not sure. I just know that I don't want to lose you."

Alec scoffed at her words.

"It's true," she tried to convince him. "I don't want to lose you, Alec. As infuriating as you are sometimes I need you in my life.. I want you in my life."

"And I want you in mine," he confessed again. "But what we both want although seemingly similar is also so totally opposite."

She didn't really have anything to say to that. She knew he was right. She'd never admit to him that she wanted it both ways.

"I was wrong to ask you what I did," she said after a few more moments of awkward silence.

"I know you were desperate. I know you love Logan. And you didn't know how I felt about you," he said with more understanding than she deserved.

"Yet you still didn't say 'yes'."

"It wouldn't have been real, Max."

She nodded and smiled ever so slightly to herself over the fact that he had surprised her again. The egotistical self-centred smart alec was not so self-absorbed as she had believed.

"So what now?" she asked, hoping he would have a solution since she couldn't think of one.

"I don't know," he sighed in defeat looking over at her sad face and her sad eyes, his heart breaking a little more. Once again, admitting silently to himself that he too didn't want to lose her, that he needed and wanted her in his life, he made her an offer. "I guess.. maybe.. we could go back to the way things were before."

"Friends?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah," he said with a mischievous smirk.

"And you'll stay in Seattle?" she asked, silently adding a 'with me?' that he couldn't hear.

"For now."

She nodded, satisfied for now with his answer, the nausea in her stomach settling somewhat. "Well I guess I'd better blaze," she said as she took a few tentative steps towards his door. " I'd better go tell Logan the bad news, that he won't have as much of a reason to hate you as he would have liked."

"Who would ever have thought that telling Logan that I refuse to jump his girl would be bad news?" He tried to joke, but for some reason the smile didn't reach his lips.

Max smiled nonetheless. "Give him time. He'll come up with another reason to hate you," she joked back as she opened the door.

"Well then, I'll try not to disappoint him."

"You do that."

She smiled sadly one last time, pausing for a brief moment trying o gauge the air between them, then she turned to leave before he called her name.

"Max?"

"Yeah?"

"I gotta know," he began,uncomfortable but determined. "I know I may be a sucker for punishment, but I gotta know.."

"What?"

"If Logan wasn't here first.. if he wasn't here at all.. then, would you ... you know, ever consider looking in my direction?"

She looked at him then, really looked at him and she marvelled at how young and yet how mature, how vulnerable and yet how strong and how lost and yet so determined he seemed. His eyes met hers and were filled with both uncertainty and hope.

"I've looked in your direction since the moment we met," she admitted softly before she closed the door behind her.

He sighed and nodded his head knowing that that was all she was capable of giving him for now.

THE END

**See the sequel 'Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea' also available on **

That's it folks. Hey it had to end somewhere! Yes I know what I promised you, and I know some of you are calling for my head on a platter, but I couldn't help it! This last part was the hardest thing in the world to write! ARGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH Hence the reason why I haven't posted in days. I actually wrote this 5 times and I still don't like it. So here's a bit of an explanation.

Sex and Love are 2 different things. I really wanted Alec to accept Max and Logan's offer under the guise that he was just 'helping her out' but really he would be in love with her-that way Max could be with both Logan and Alec. But then "noble" Alec decided to rear his head in an earlier part of the story, which believe me, even though I am the author was a complete surprise. (What do you think I have actual control over these characters?)

It was kind of fun writing 'noble' Alec and so I ran with it. I thought that I would be able to get them all back on track and have a scene where Alec and Max did the deed during a heat session and when she went to leave he would ask her to stay the night (something she had never done before) and not return to Logan and she would and she would also soon discover that this little business arrangement wasn't just business and Logan would realise that his little plan wasn't working as something more was developing between Max and Alec cause you can't have that kind of arrangement without feeling something for the other partner I don't care how much Manticore you are and I dare you to say all that in one breath!

But it just didn't turn out the way I wanted. I still liked how Alec refused Max. I mean he could have had her, he really could. He could have had his dream but he refused! Why? Because he really is complex (just look at his relationship with Rachel) and he wouldn't take advantage of Max in that way. But that doesn't mean he would stop trying to endear himself to her.

Anyway, I know some of this was totally far fetched (but I really don't think as far fetched as some other fics out there). I ABSOLUTELY LOVED reading all your comments. Even though I am a M/A Shipper and many of you thought Logan was a sleaze in this I actually wanted to show that he really really loves Max and he felt that to love someone you have to set them free was the best way he prevent from losing her.

If the ending wasn't what you wanted I hope you still enjoyed the ride. Thanks for being with me and I'd still love to hear from you. Please please please review.

But if you didn't like it – maybe you'll get want you want in the sequel so go check it out, but be warned it too is dragged out for about 9 chapters.


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